Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate the challenges involved in imaging and identifying subterranean tectonic features that are proximal to, but not necessary penetrated by, a borehole. Characterization of subsurface features typically relies either upon a remote sensing imaging application (for example, approaches employing seismic exploration techniques and/or measurement of electrical potential fields), or upon direct sampling, i.e., drilling one or more boreholes.
In general, direct sampling techniques such as the drilling of boreholes are undesirably inefficient and costly. On the other hand, remote sensing technologies and modeling techniques have been employed in the prior art with limited success, and there thus remains an ongoing need for improved techniques for remote characterization of tectonic features or conditions, such as active faults in the proximity of but not necessarily penetrated by a borehole. Energy, resource, and environmental entities who require knowledge of active faults in the subsurface for characterizing fluid flow parameters through natural fractures and/or faults require information that describes the location and orientation of these active faults. Among other considerations, characterization of such features is important if undesirable drilling events, such as wellbore breakouts, are to be avoided.